'''Eugene Simon''' (born 11 June 1992) is a British actor. He is best known for playing the younger version of Ben-Hur in [[wikipedia:Ben Hur (TV miniseries)|the 2010 mini-series]] and the younger version of [[wikipedia:Casanova|Casanova]] in [[wikipedia:Casanova (2005 TV series)|the 2005 TV series]].

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'''Eugene Michael Simon''' (born 11 June 1992) is a British actor. He is best known for playing the younger version of Ben-Hur in [[wikipedia:Ben Hur (TV miniseries)|the 2010 mini-series]] and the younger version of [[wikipedia:Casanova|Casanova]] in [[wikipedia:Casanova (2005 TV series)|the 2005 TV series]].

He also plays Jerome Clarke in the Nickelodeon TV show ''[[Wikipedia:House of Anubis|House of Anubis]]''.

He also plays Jerome Clarke in the Nickelodeon TV show ''[[Wikipedia:House of Anubis|House of Anubis]]''.

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In ''[[Game of Thrones]]'' he is playing the role of [[Lancel Lannister]]. He was confirmed in the role on 16 July 2010. He initially appeared as a guest star in the [[Season 1|first season]] and returned in this role for the [[Season 2|second season]].

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==In ''Game of Thrones''==

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In ''[[Game of Thrones]]'' he is playing the role of [[Lancel Lannister]]. He was confirmed in the role on 16 July 2010. He initially appeared as a guest star in the [[Season 1|first season]] and returned in this role for the [[Season 2|second season]]. He did not appear in either [[Season 3]] or [[Season 4]], but will reprise his role of Lancel in [[Season 5]].<ref>http://watchersonthewall.com/dubrovnik-filming-begins-game-thrones-season-5 Watchers on the Wall]</ref>

Prior to being cast as Lancel Lannister, Simon had auditioned for the role of [[Joffrey Baratheon]].<ref>Eng, Jared (October 26, 2011). [http://www.justjared.com/2011/10/26/eugene-simon-interview Eugene Simon Interview - Exclusive] Just Jared.</ref>

Prior to being cast as Lancel Lannister, Simon had auditioned for the role of [[Joffrey Baratheon]].<ref>Eng, Jared (October 26, 2011). [http://www.justjared.com/2011/10/26/eugene-simon-interview Eugene Simon Interview - Exclusive] Just Jared.</ref>

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On Lancel becoming a religious fanatic and joining the [[Faith Militant]] in Season 5, Simon said:

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:You have to ask yourself, 'Why would Lancel become such an oppressive figure?' He was a relative underdog before. I think Lancel had that experience at Blackwater where he came close to death, and no one was there for him. He didn't come from destitution and poverty — he came from emotional destitution. Total loss, and complete perdition, and no sense that anyone in the world is on his side. And then along comes this miraculous figure under the skin of Jonathan Pryce, the High Sparrow, to save him. He was offered an answer that became the answer to everything, because that's what totalitarian religion does. It's sort of pure and righteous, but righteous is the most dangerous word in the English dictionary. So I think Lancel has numbed himself to the pain of others, under the belief that what he is doing is good for them on another level, on a spiritual level. That's what's so frightening about him and people like him, because you can't reason with that frame of mind."<ref>[http://www.vulture.com/2015/05/eugene-simon-lancel-became-such-an-oppressive-figure.html ]</ref>

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Simon explained that, in order to show how Lancel is a tougher character when he returned in Season 5, he gained about 40 pounds (18 kilograms) of muscle mass compared to what he weighed back in Seasons 1 and 2, which he achieved through a combination of parkour, cardio, weights, and boxing.<ref>[https://twitter.com/Eugene_Simon/status/595345531401965568] </ref> This was to contrast with Lancel's initially meek and foppish appearance at the beginning of the TV series.

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Simon also explained the change in Lancel's physical appearance during an interview with ''Vulture.com''. The idea is that Lancel stopped trying to maintain a refined and wealthy appearance, instead switching to the homespun cloth robes of the other penitents, and he is also barefoot like them. Because Lancel used to have long attractive hair, he now simply cuts it short without styling it, i.e. if he previously wore his hair short but neatly cropped, he would have switched to wearing it long and unkempt to show that Lancel doesn't care about his appearance anymore - but Lancel already had long hair, so they did it the other way around.

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[[File:504 Lancel's fingernails breaking.jpg|thumb|Eugene Simon grew his nails long and then ''actually'' broke them on-camera, intentionally, when Lancel is gripping his chair as his forehead is being carved.]]

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Similarly, Simon explained that he got the idea that to show how little Lancel cares about his physical appearance, he intentionally grew out his own fingernails for three months without cutting them. When Lancel is having the Seven-Pointed Star carved into his forehead in episode 5.4 "[[Sons of the Harpy (episode)|Sons of the Harpy]]", the character grips the wooden arm of his chair in pain so hard that his nails break. For this shot, Simon weakened the long nails on his right hand by discretely cutting vertical lines into them, to make them break when he gripped the handle very hard. Simon's fingernails are ''actually'' breaking and bleeding in this shot, on-camera, with no props. As he said, "I put my hand on the side of the wood, I squeezed, and my nails broke. And we got the shot! It's used in the footage, my actual nails being broken. It was so worth it!"<ref>[http://www.vulture.com/2015/05/eugene-simon-lancel-became-such-an-oppressive-figure.html ]</ref>

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Simon said that an unfortunate side-effect of this happened in the preceding episode, "[[High Sparrow (episode)|High Sparrow]]": when the Sparrows burst into the brothel and Lancel drags the old High Septon out onto the street naked, he accidentally ended up unintentionally gripping him so hard that his long nails cut the other actor deep enough to draw blood. After the shot was done he looked down at his hands and at the other actor's bloody ribs, and realized he had his blood under his nails.

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Due to his commitment to method acting, because Lancel is a barefoot penitent starting in Season 5, Simon also doesn't wear shoes between takes (other actors playing Sparrows/Faith Militant will put shoes or slippers on between filming due to how cold it is on set).<ref>[http://www.vulture.com/2015/05/eugene-simon-lancel-became-such-an-oppressive-figure.html ]</ref>

On Lancel becoming a religious fanatic and joining the Faith Militant in Season 5, Simon said:

You have to ask yourself, 'Why would Lancel become such an oppressive figure?' He was a relative underdog before. I think Lancel had that experience at Blackwater where he came close to death, and no one was there for him. He didn't come from destitution and poverty — he came from emotional destitution. Total loss, and complete perdition, and no sense that anyone in the world is on his side. And then along comes this miraculous figure under the skin of Jonathan Pryce, the High Sparrow, to save him. He was offered an answer that became the answer to everything, because that's what totalitarian religion does. It's sort of pure and righteous, but righteous is the most dangerous word in the English dictionary. So I think Lancel has numbed himself to the pain of others, under the belief that what he is doing is good for them on another level, on a spiritual level. That's what's so frightening about him and people like him, because you can't reason with that frame of mind."[3]

Simon explained that, in order to show how Lancel is a tougher character when he returned in Season 5, he gained about 40 pounds (18 kilograms) of muscle mass compared to what he weighed back in Seasons 1 and 2, which he achieved through a combination of parkour, cardio, weights, and boxing.[4] This was to contrast with Lancel's initially meek and foppish appearance at the beginning of the TV series.

Simon also explained the change in Lancel's physical appearance during an interview with Vulture.com. The idea is that Lancel stopped trying to maintain a refined and wealthy appearance, instead switching to the homespun cloth robes of the other penitents, and he is also barefoot like them. Because Lancel used to have long attractive hair, he now simply cuts it short without styling it, i.e. if he previously wore his hair short but neatly cropped, he would have switched to wearing it long and unkempt to show that Lancel doesn't care about his appearance anymore - but Lancel already had long hair, so they did it the other way around.

Eugene Simon grew his nails long and then actually broke them on-camera, intentionally, when Lancel is gripping his chair as his forehead is being carved.

Similarly, Simon explained that he got the idea that to show how little Lancel cares about his physical appearance, he intentionally grew out his own fingernails for three months without cutting them. When Lancel is having the Seven-Pointed Star carved into his forehead in episode 5.4 "Sons of the Harpy", the character grips the wooden arm of his chair in pain so hard that his nails break. For this shot, Simon weakened the long nails on his right hand by discretely cutting vertical lines into them, to make them break when he gripped the handle very hard. Simon's fingernails are actually breaking and bleeding in this shot, on-camera, with no props. As he said, "I put my hand on the side of the wood, I squeezed, and my nails broke. And we got the shot! It's used in the footage, my actual nails being broken. It was so worth it!"[5]

Simon said that an unfortunate side-effect of this happened in the preceding episode, "High Sparrow": when the Sparrows burst into the brothel and Lancel drags the old High Septon out onto the street naked, he accidentally ended up unintentionally gripping him so hard that his long nails cut the other actor deep enough to draw blood. After the shot was done he looked down at his hands and at the other actor's bloody ribs, and realized he had his blood under his nails.

Due to his commitment to method acting, because Lancel is a barefoot penitent starting in Season 5, Simon also doesn't wear shoes between takes (other actors playing Sparrows/Faith Militant will put shoes or slippers on between filming due to how cold it is on set).[6]